Firestarter
by NightlyEvilTM
Summary: AU/AH. Elena is struggling after she suffered through a huge loss, but no one sees it. Damon is damaged because of his past. One night they meet. Neither one of them is looking for what follows, but it's inevitable. Beta reader - Niknakz93
1. Chapter 1

**AN. This my new story. It's different from anything I have written before - it's an AU/AH story. I hope with the help of my beta Niknakz93 and your feedback, this story will be a journey that you will enjoy. It will include angst, love, drama, hurt, romance, happiness... Perhaps sometimes you'll hate me for some things that happen, perhaps sometimes you will love me. I hope it will take your interest and you will follow it through. **

**The story starts the summer before Elena's junior year - summer of 2009. Some things may seem vague now, but they will become clear later.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Elena was sitting at their table, watching the others dance, make out, laugh. Having fun. And all she wanted was to get away, to not be here. This wasn't her life, her world anymore.

Back before everything happened, she would have been the life of the party. She would've been the most drunk one, the one flirting with hottest boys and ruling the dance floor.

But that part of her died back in May.

Elena knew she wasn't supposed to be mad at Caroline and Bonnie for dragging her in the club tonight, after all, they were just trying to help her start living again, move on. But she was mad at them for not understanding she didn't want that.

Of course, she couldn't really blame them. It was her fault they didn't understand, because she never talked to them about it. She never talked to anyone. Not to her two best friends, not to her aunt, not to her brother.

Every time someone tried to get to the subject, she'd dodge the question with either a perfectly worn out 'I am fine' or with changing the subject.

The only one who got something close to a reaction out of her was Matt. But not because she wanted to or felt like it. Not even close. She just owed him an explanation why she was breaking up with him. The best she could give without actually saying anything was

'I am not the same anymore, Matt. I need to figure myself out before anything, and I need to do this by myself. I can't do it when I am with you.'

The truth was she just wanted to be left alone. Why no one seemed to see it was a mystery to Elena.

Tonight, Caroline and Bonnie begged until she agreed to go to the club with them. And there she was. Sitting on the table, barely waiting till it was acceptable to say she was tired in order to just get the hell out.

Bonnie was dancing with this new guy, Luka, or whatever his name was; while Caroline was making out with Tyler like there was no tomorrow. If she was gonna bear this, she needed booze.

'I'm gonna go get a drink.'

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><p>Damon Salvatore took a seat on the bar and ordered himself neat double bourbon. After all, he had a reason for celebration, right? And what better way to celebrate than some good booze, picking one of the girls who threw themselves on him, taking her home and having hot sex… Yeah, this was the description of a well spent night for him.<p>

As he sipped his drink, Damon thought about his life. From his childhood up to that moment.

The general conclusion he made was that he was lonely.

He didn't really have friends. Well, except for Ric, but they saw each other twice a year, if that even. After college, Rick stayed in Duke, married Isobel and started teaching history there. After Isobel's death, Ric still lived in their old apartment and worked in the office they used to share. Damon thought it was unhealthy, tried to reason with him, but Mr. Saltzman was nothing if not stubborn as hell. So he stayed at Duke while Damon was at Mystic Falls.

The picture with his family wasn't pretty either. His mother had died years ago. His dad was a dick who couldn't care less about his sons, especially Damon. And Stefan…

Damon realized he didn't even know where his brother was. He should have graduated college this year. He most probably had started working for their dad. He had moved in with Katherine by now, without a doubt. Katherine…

Damon sighed. Damn her. Not that he still loved her. That ship has sailed long time ago. He didn't even hate her anymore. It was worse than that – he didn't give a fuck if she was dead or alive, he was completely indifferent. But he was still mad at her for what she did. Why? Because he missed his little brother.

They hadn't talked in 2 years. Ever since the whole fiasco took place.

Firstly, Damon thought he hated Stefan. He hated him because of his betrayal, hated him because Katherine chose him, hated him cause the damn brat apologized. Damon was so blinded by anger and pain that he decided his brother and the little slut were both dead to him.

After a while though, the anger died out, the pain started to ease up. He could feel he was starting to forgive, but the wound was too fresh, and besides, Damon knew Stefan was struggling because of their lack of contact, and decided the kid should learn his lesson properly.

By now, even if he hasn't forgotten, Damon has long forgiven his brother. And he missed him. (When did he get that sappy?) But he was too proud and too stubborn to make the step and pick up the phone.

So, yeah, Damon Salvatore was damn lonely. So he would sit there, get drunk and bring home one of the beautiful girls who came onto him (cause, let's face it, there were always pretty girls hitting on him). That was the plan.

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><p>Elena walked over to the bar, successfully avoiding the drunk morons who tried to hit on her. God, how they annoyed her! Already on the bar, Elena waited for the barman who was too busy flirting shamelessly with some bleached bimbo. After a while, she got annoyed and decided she had waited enough.<p>

'Excuse me! Can I get a drink or will I have to wait till you two schedule whose place you are going to after the shift ends?'

Now, those words were something Damon Salvatore didn't hear every day. He turned around to look at the woman who said them. He saw her and he smirked. She was hot, and she had spunk. And he liked that. A lot. He stood up and walked over next to her just when the bartender was handing her the vodka tonic. When she was about to ask for the price, Damon put a 20$ bill on the bar.

'This one's on me.'

Elena then turned her head to look directly in the eyes the man who had approached her. He was gorgeous, she could say after just a mere glance at him. Still, that didn't change the fact that his lame pick-up trick annoyed her.

"No, thank you. I will pay for my drink myself. I know how this works. You buy me a drink, we sit and flirt, we drink another round, we dance, we drink some more, we go to your place, we screw. Sorry, not interested."

Damon smirked again. He liked her already. There was something about this girl that made him determined to get to her.

"Feisty and sarcastic. I like it. Now, miss know-it-all, why are you so quick to assume? You saw me 30 seconds ago."

Elena rolled her eyes and sighed. She was beginning to wonder why she bothered at all, but still, she decided to elaborate.

"Well, buying me a drink – old pick-up trick. Cliché if you ask me. You are obviously trying to get me in bed. Hell, getting laid is the reason you are here tonight. And before you ask me how I know, let me tell you it's obvious. I assume you are in your twenties; you wear designer clothes, so I guess you make good money. Yet, you sit at the bar of a club, wearing the first few buttons of your shirt open, drinking your whiskey alone. It's the definition of guy looking for sex. Am I wrong? "

"Touché" he replied, his smirk still intact. "I guess I am pretty obvious. But so are you, kitten."

"First of all, kitten, really? Second, if I am so easy to read, why don't you tell me what you think I am doing here?"

"Well, first thing I can tell from a mile away is that you don't really want to be here. You look kind of grumpy, but mostly annoyed and bored. So not the look of a girl who is thrilled to be here. I think you came just because of your friends, I'd guess, and you want to get out of here. But since it's still early, you can't do that without your friends getting mad at you. So you try to soothe it with alcohol. Hence, the vodka tonic instead of something more girly, like margarita or strawberry daiquiri. Am I close?"

Elena's eyes widened. How could a total stranger see that she didn't want to be here, but her childhood friends couldn't? Well, they didn't want to see it, Elena thought. But how could this man see right through her in just a minute?

"I'll take your silence as a yes. Now, I am buying you this drink. Not up for a discussion. Whether you'll decide to join me for it is up to you. If I were you, I'd totally have drink with me, by the way. I'm totally amazing. "

"And oh, so modest!"

"What can I say? I'm the full package. But seriously, do you wanna go back to your friends, who obviously are too busy with themselves anyway to see you hate this?"

Elena found herself actually considering his offer. Not only that Tyler&Caroline's PDA was borderline disgusting, and Bonnie was either talking with the new guy, or constantly telling Elena how glad she was the three of them did something together again. No, it was not just that. It was that guy. It was something about how he could easily tell what was behind her mask that sparked some sort of interest to talk to him.

"What do you say we start properly? I'm Damon. Please to meet you…?"

" Elena. "

"Elena. I like it. It suits you."

Before Elena had the chance to say anything back, Caroline's voice interrupted them.

"Elena! You took ages! I so need a girl talk in the bathroom, like, now!"

Elena looked at Damon, and smiled slightly.

"Well, I guess you'll have to keep drinking alone. Girlfriend duties. Goodbye, Damon."

"I don't like the word 'goodbye'. So I will go with 'I'll see you again, Elena." – he said smiling devilishly at her.

"I highly doubt that."

"I don't."

Elena was surprised by his confidence, but decided not to comment on it, so she just picked her drink and went with Caroline. Damon watched her as she went, and smiled to himself. There was something in this girl that appealed to him.

Oh, he'd made sure to see her again.

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><p><strong>AN 2 : Well, that's the start, folks. I wanna thank Niknakz93 - my beta, who is helping me make this story as good as possible. Thank you so much! Be sure to check her profile. <strong>

**Thanks in advance to those of you who will read, review, favorite and/or subscribe. Feedback means a lot to me. **

**Till next time!**

**x0x0**

**NightlyEvilTM**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Here is the second chapter, folks. It's kind of a filler, but I think the things we learn in this chapter about how both Damon and Elena think and feel will be important part in understanding them and their actions and choices better. I know the characters may be slightly different from how they are on the show, after all, this is AU/AH, but I try to keep them as close to the original characters as possible, as much as the plot allows :) **

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><p>Damon got home alone that night, without a female companion for the night. Somehow, <em>that girl<em> seemed to had occupied his mind. Elena.

It was not just because of her looks. She was gorgeous, that much was true. But there were lots of beautiful girls, so it wasn't just about that. No, there was something else.

Her sassiness, her insight, how she didn't fall for his charms like most girls did.

Some would say it was the thrill of the chase that got him so interested. But it was not that either.

The thing that intrigued him most was her eyes. She was, what? 17, 18? But instead of the usual spark for recklessness and adventurous dreams that was typical for teenagers, her eyes held shadows of something Damon could only liken as raw pain.

He wanted to know what had caused it.

He wanted to know her.

It was crazy. In the last two years, he had never had even the slightest interest in getting to know anybody. Not his colleagues, not any of the dozens of girls he has slept with. Hell, even before Katherine, he very rarely had felt the impulse to try and get to really know people.

So how did this teenage girl manage to intrigue him so much in less than 5 minutes?

Damon shook his head and cursed to himself. He couldn't even blame it on alcohol, because he was nowhere near drunk.

It was all her.

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><p>Caroline and Elena hugged Bonnie and exchanged goodbyes with Tyler and Luka and got in the car heading home. At first they rode in not that comfortable silence, till the blonde decided to break it.<p>

'I know you weren't really in the mood tonight, but you have to live, Elena. I know what happened is terrible, but you can't let your life pass you by.'

Elena got slightly angry. Scratch that, she got mad.

'Really? Well, guess what, Caroline, I don't want to live like that anymore. I may have been that girl before, but I am not anymore. You think you understand, but you don't. You can't understand what it's like, and I am so glad you don't, because in order to get how it feels, you have to go through it. And I hope you never do, Caroline. But I'll tell you something. I am not the same anymore. I am not happy, cheerful, little Elena anymore. She died, Care. I am sorry, but I am not her."

Caroline sighed.

'I am not saying you should be the same girl you were before, Lena. I am saying you should stop just existing! Elena, you need to figure out what you want to do and do it. You can't just sit at home, locked up in your room, writing in your diary and the only reason you go out is to go to the cemetery. If you keep going like this, you won't help anyone – not Jeremy, not Jenna, not me, not Bonnie, most of all, not yourself. So, no need to go to clubs and drink and be a cheerleader when school starts, but please, Elena, start living your life."

Elena listened carefully. She knew for the most part her friend was right. There was just one problem.

'I don't know how, Caroline. It hurts, and when it doesn't, I am numb. I just don't know what to do or how to fix it. It's like nothing matters anymore. I have no idea what to do.'

Caroline went silent for a while, then smiled the mischievous smile Elena knew so well.

'How about this guy I saw you with at the bar tonight? What was that anyway?'

Oh, so she had noticed.

'Nothing. He bought me a drink and flirted, lame attempt at getting me in bed. '

'He was hot. Scratch that, he was sex on legs. If I hadn't been with Tyler, I would've totally been all over him.'

'Didn't notice.' Elena lied quickly.

'Oh, come on, Elena. It's me. Admit it, he was gorgeous.'

'He was ok, I guess.' Elena said kind of weirdly.

'I mean, those cheekbones, that jaw line, that lean body…' Caroline went on and Elena just snapped.

'Ok, I admit it, he was very hot! That doesn't change the fact that he was annoying and smug and irritating and…'

'Oh my God! You totally liked him!'

Elena could swear she had started to blush – what the hell was wrong with her?

'I did not! He was some lame guy trying to get laid with the first girl he saw.'

'You think he needed to flirt with you specifically to get laid? Honey, he probably has a line of girls trying to get in his pants. But he came and flirted with you, so I dare say you really caught his eye. And he obviously got yours. Otherwise you wouldn't have gotten so angry when I pushed you. Also, you talked for quite a while, and when I came, you didn't seem even remotely bothered. So just admit it, Lena.'

If she was being honest, Caroline was right – had the guy not made an impression on her, she would've probably reacted differently.

'Even if I did like him, which I am not saying I did, it doesn't matter. Because a) he was probably in his middle twenties and I am not even 17; b) what he didn't get from me he probably got from someone else and he'd have no interest now; c) I will probably never see him or hear of him again; d) I am in no shape for a relationship right now. So, whether I liked him or not doesn't matter.'

The blond smiled triumphantly.

'Honey, first of all, you so liked him! I knew it! Anyway, second, even if he got some other girl tonight, it doesn't mean he lost interest. You turned him down, for guys this is like the ultimate turn on. If anything, he's even more interested now. Third, in the middle twenties doesn't mean a retiree. Forth, no one is talking about a relationship – we are talking about good old hot dirty sex.'

'Caroline!'

'Oh, shut up – you know you wanted to jump his bones. Where was I? Oh, yeah, I remember. Fifth, we live in Mystic Falls, the world's smallest town probably – you are bound to see him. Sixth,… Well, I don't have a sixth, but 5 are more than enough. My point is, you like him go for it. Who knows, he might turn to be the love of your life or something.'

'As if.'

'Just saying.'

'Enough about this, ok? Tell me how did Tyler behave tonight?'

'Oh, Elena, he was amazing! Totally hot and sexy, and sweet at the same time. He told me…'

Elena was glad she finally managed to shut Caroline up about Damon and gave her a topic where the other girl could talk nonstop about till they got to the house.

Even if she had opened up to Caroline for some things, she couldn't do it any longer, she couldn't say anything else. And she couldn't say anything about the conversation with Damon either, because it actually made Elena uncomfortable.

How come a guy she didn't know, someone who just tried to pick her up, saw right through her walls and masks?

A part of her was telling her to just forget it. But the other part, the bigger one, wanted to get to know Damon.

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><p><strong>AN 2: That's it! Hope you enjoyed it!<strong>

**I wanna thank my amazing beta, Niknakz93, for helping this story be as good as possible! **

**x0x0**

**NightlyEvilTM**


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